Sunday, November 06, 2005

No more news this year?

I have received inside information that Nintendo will not release any more news this year. Apparently, they will not try to counter the Xbox360 launch with more information about the Revolution or a preview of the games, as I had previously thought. However, N-Sider has just posted that another Nintendo representative told them the opposite story:

Nintendo is officially disclosing plans to release new info regarding Revolution in the coming weeks.

"...we do plan to release more information about the system by the end of the year, which may include details about the games or the final name of the system."

-- Nintendo Representative

It's likely this will happen before Christmas; possibly much sooner (given the approaching launch date of a certain competitor).

Now, this is very confusing. All I can say is that my source is very reliable, though I wish he were wrong.

Yeah, shoxware. I forgot to mention Kojima-San´s quote that there will be news very soon. That would speak in favour of N-Sider´s source and against mine. However, I don´t think this particular event is the right kind of forum Nintendo would want any news to be revealed. It´s also too late if the idea is to counter the Xbox360 launch. So either nothing will be revealed there or something will be revealed beforehand, which will be repeated at the event. I strongly believe that this event will not be host to exclusive never-heard-before Revolution news.

Sure, it would make sense from a strategic standpoint for Nintendo to release more info just before the 360's launch. But maybe that logic is backwards. Maybe Nintendo doesn't want to get caught up in the bloody console wars. Maybe they really do want to differentiate themselves, perhaps by releasing info not in the middle of the storm but after the storm has passed.

Personally, I think Nintendo might be laying low right now, conserving money for an aggressive marketing campaign for sometime after E3. Who knows, but I beleive the last secret will be revealed at E3 06.

Well, I don't really see what Nintendo could hope to do to counter the X360 launch anyways. With Microsoft's shortage of hardware, and the like-clowckwork voracity of early-adopters and hardcore gamers, the X360 will sell out no matter what you do.

Besides, why talk about something during the X360 launch when it is Sony who's going to be losing consumers to Microsoft? Don't forget, Nintendo wants the Revolution to be an "and" console...

they have said that its inbetween a handheld and a stardard console so maby they dont give a crap what the 360s doing.

plus, nintendo need to keep people interested befor the release so the dont commit to buying another console. even if the revs better they will just stay "stink bro!" and continue playing there crap box or crap station or even there csp.

there's not much that could be done to counter the launch of 360 knowing that all is sold out and that there is a shortage. i dont think Nintendo cares too much either , they appear rather confident, and once the first wave of xbox (preorders) are all sold it will take several weeks befor the second batch will arrive (check out the BBC show on x360 , pretty insightful) or enouph time for nintendo to announce something, perhaps a little bit of info on dec 2nd.

hey NZ guy , who said that revo would be between a handheld and a standard console ...???

"not just a portable, not just a console -- it's exactly what we wanted in that it's the birth of a completely new platform."~ Wada, President of SquareEnix

Guys, consider that what we saw of the Revolution is just a module, that there are other parts. In total, there will be three parts. Playing on the TV will be an option, not a necessity. Consider more of these quotes:

“I think maybe if I could do anything, I would make it so you don’t have to sit in front of a TV and play. If you could have a machine that you just plugged in and played inside a virtual world that - would be just great.” Source: Miyamoto in Game Informer p. 50 issue 109.

"We plan on taking advantage of a number of new features in the Revolution, including the controller," Retro Studio's Metroid Prime 3 interview. http://cube.ign.com/articles/638/638879p1.html

"Obviously there's so much that we haven't said about Revolution,..." Post TGS comment by Beth Llewelyn http://cube.ign.com/articles/659/659020p1.html

"Sitting in front of your monitor with a controller, there's really nowhere to go from that paradigm, all you can do is make it prettier and faster,". -Miyamoto

"We invented the current way a console is played - in front of a television and holding a controller - but maybe that image will change."-Iwata

"I could give you our technical specs, as I'd know you'd like that, but I won't for a simple reason: they really don't matter. The time when horsepower alone made all the difference is over. -Iwata

From an Engadget interview:

Q: I know we’re running out of time, but I’ve been dying to ask you about this. Around the time of E3 there was a fan-made video circulating of what was supposedly an unannounced new helmet-based Nintendo virtual reality video game system called Nintendo ON. What did you think of it, if you’ve seen it?

Miyamato: I guess I’ll have to take a look at that video!

Q: You’ve never seen it?

Miyamoto: No.

Q: There are plenty of people who insist that the video is actually a real Nintendo product and we, along with a lot of other people, have had to spend a lot of time debunking it. Why do you think that so many Nintendo fans might be so willing to believe that it was real? It seems like it really struck a chord with a lot of people.

Miyamoto: Obviously, Nintendo’s has done research on that type of thing in the past, so who knows. Maybe it’s possible that something like that may come out of Nintendo one day.

Though I must add that Wada was not talking about the Revolution per se. Concerning the DS and Revolution, he was talking of Nintendo´s networking plans:

´The stance Square Enix takes on the new networking plan in relation to Revolution is the most intriguing. "What increased our interest further," states Wada regarding the networking plan, "is that the next step is already being prepared for Revolution." Nintendo's networking plan is, according to Wada, "not just a portable, not just a console -- it's exactly what we wanted in that it's the birth of a completely new platform."´

It´s right here in COlogne. Nothing big, as I say. It´s called the Mario Media Cup and it´s a sort of competition in Mario Tennis, Football and other games for journalists. So it´s more recreational and informal. But I´ll get to meet Stefan again and I´ll be able to ask him some questions. So stay tuned.

By the way: The post was down because I had to correct some formatting and later add a lengthy update. I believe the post is down while I´m editing it.